Haystacker



y 1931- D. H. EASTERLY 1,806,243

HAYS'IACKER Filed Jan. 2, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet l May 19, 1931. D. H.EASTERLY HAYSTACKER Filed Jan. 2, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 David H.EELETEII mll n: waif-a1 y 1931- D. H. EASTERLY 1,806,243

HAYSTACKER Filed Jan. 2, 1929 s Shet-Sheet s Qwvwntoz a 5T2 ril blDav-L13 .57

Patented May 19, 1931 (DAVID ,nnsrnnry, .oF nnrcaorr, MICHIGANnnYsrAoKnR Application filed January 2, 1929. Serial 1%. 29,843.

f'lhe-present invention relates-to hay stackers and the primary objectof the invention is =toprovide a h-ay stacker ofthe swinging type wliichwill beautomatic in: the degree-of elevating and swinging ofthe hay rackfrom its "lower loading position.

A further object of the invention is. to provide an automatic haystacker of the swinging type embo'dyi-ng means for automatically '3swinging anddumpingthe hay rack after therackhasbeen elevated-to apredetermined height. a

A further obj ect of the invention is to provide an automaticallyoperating hay. stacker of the swinging type embodying means forautomatically swinging the elevated load of hay, with adj ustablemeansfor limiting the swinging movement ofthe hayrack andreleaseof thehay-therefromflat predetermined points.

A .still further object of the invention is to providean automatic haystacker embodyi-ng weight opera-ted means for swinging the hay rackwithmeans for automatically permltting. swingingmovement of the hay raokby the weight meansafter the hay rackhas been elevated to apredetermined elevation.

A-sti'll further object of the invention is to provide an automatic haystacker of the swinging type including an automatic. trip means-for thehay rack whereinthe fingers of the ra'clnwillibe retainedlin ahorizontalposition until release. of p the rack by the I trip means.

:Other. objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentduringthe course of the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings forming apart of. this.specification and in. which drawings:

:Figure Lisa perspective view .of the improved hay stacker'and showingthe relation of parts just after the control arm has beenreleasedbynpwardmovement of the hay rack toallow horizontal swinging of:the rack by the gravity operated swinging means.

Figure 2 is a -a fragmentary view part in vertical section and part inelevation Jan-d showing the. parts; position after the: .hay

rack has been tripped.

Figure Sis a fragmentary horizontal. sectiontaken above the base frameor platform and showing the control arm in it latched; position duringraising of the rack.

Figure lis a fragmentary section thru the slide of the.adjustableirelease meansforthe control arm and showingthetrigger havingbeen moved for releasing thecontrol arm latch.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary horizontalsection showing the mannerinwhichthecontrol arm is swung by the weight means for swinging thehayrack.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line 6-6 ofFigure 3.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the hay rack.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail view showing the trip rod release forallowing tilting of the hay rack for discharging the hay; therefrom.

Figure 9 .is a fragmentary detail view showing the trip. rod held in its'lowered position for retaining the fingers of theihay rackhorizontally.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary detail view ofthe adjustable release means.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary detail view showing the manner inwhichthetrip rod release pin engages the adjustablerelease pin for allowingupward movement of the trip rod.

Figure 12 is an enlarged fragmentary view looking atthe under side oftheadjustable release means and showing .more clearly the manner in whichthe trip .rod release pin will be withdrawn by; the adjustableretracting pin.

F igure13 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the manner inwhichthetrip rod release pin is mounted to extendthru the center post ormast.

Referring to the drawings:in detail, and wherein similar referencecharactersdesignate corresponding parts thruoutthe several views, theletter A designates .asu-oporting structure for. mounting oftlie stackerprop'er 13;:(1 hoist or lift means for vertical movementv of-the stackerproper B, D adjustable control means for the lift means C to permithorizontal swinging of the stackerlB by the which preferablyablyfofcylindrical formation in cross formaswinging means E, and Gadjustable autofront and rear longitudinal sills 5 and firespectively,connected at their ends by the end cross rails or sills 8 and at theirmedial portions by a central cross sill 9 the endsfof sills'6 and 7.Revolublyinount'e'd at its lower end upon the central, cross sill 9immediately rearwardly of the front-longitudinal sill 6 is a center postor mast 10. which is prefertion and carries atitsupper end a suitablepulley or sheave 11 mounted torevolve about a horizontal axis. The frame5 also includes an anchor plate 12. to which is secured theends-ofhorizontal bracemembers13 which are arranged at angles of 90degrees toon'e another with two-of the brace members extendinglongitudinally of the front sill G and the intermediateibrace memberextending in longitudinal alignment withthe central cross sill 9.Thesehorizontal brace members .13 are intended to rest upon the groundsurface, and mounted at one end to the outer end of each of thehorizontal brace-members 13 is a diagonal brace member 14; The innerends ofthe diagonal brace members 14 are anchored to'asuitable collar 15which encircles the mast 10 adjacent the upper end of the mast andinwhich collar the mast is free. to rotate. 1 p Y The stacker proper B forpivotal mounting upon the upper end of the mast 1O embodies a walkingbeam 16 which may be-formed 7 from a pair of suitably heavy rails heldseparated'by thespacer blocks 16 arranged adjacent each end of the beam.The beam 16 is pivotally -mounted intermediate its ends upon the pivotpin 11 for the sheave '11 with the rails. of the beam spaced one'ateach'side of the mast v10 so that the ends of the beam will'havevertical swingingmovement, Thus it will be seen that the verticalswinging axis of tliebeam 16. is atthe axis of rotation of l the sheave11. Extending forwardly in diverging relation. and anchored at theirrear ends to the sides of the beam 16 adjacent its pivotal axis, is apair of arms 17 to the forward ends of which is pivotally mounted a hayrack 18. The forward diverging ends of r the arms 17 are preferablyconnected by a transversetie member 19, and connected with the forwardend ofthe beam 16 are lift arms.

20 whichhavethei'r forward ends'anchored to the forward ends of the arms'17. The hay rack 18 is of substantially L-shape in formation forming abase portion composed of thexfingers 21 and the upstanding back projectbeyond the side I posts 22. The forward end of each arm 17 carries asuitable bracket having its outer end pivotally connected asat 23 to thelower end of the terminally disposed back posts 22 so that the hay rackis pivotally mounted at its rear lower portion for vertical tilting uponthe forward ends of the armsi17. Mounted between the/rails of thewalking be'a1n'16 at the rear end thereof,,is a double pulley or sheave24, while mountedbetweenfthe beam rails rearwardly of'the' pivotalmounting 11 of the, beam is a single sheave 25..

Referring now to the hoist or lift means for vertical swinging movementof the stacker proper B, the same includes a horizontally swingingcontrol arm 26 which isfixedly secured at its inner end tothe lowerendof; the mast 10 as :by a clamp bracket 27 clamped about the mast. Thebrack t 27. carries a setof pulleys 28 of any approved type forcooperating with the pulleys 2 1 carried-by the rear end of the walkingbeam '16; Mountedupon the upper side and at the outer end of the arm 26'is a sheave. 29 which rotates about a vertical axis; Mountedto rotate,about a vertical axis upon one end-of, the frontframe sill 6 is a pairof pulleys 30 and 31 with the. pulley 31 preferably mounted upon theextremeend of the sill and the pulley'30 mounted at aJlocation on thesill nearer to the mast lOthan the, spacing'of the pulley '29 fromthemast. A hoist or lift rope 32 is connected at one end to theanchoring bracket 27 and istrained over thepulleys2e-and-28, and fromone .of the pulleys 28 is trained outwardly around the pulley 29 andthen about the pulleys 30 and 31 in a manner,- as clearly illustrated inFigures v1 and 3 so'that' when a pull is exerted on the rope or;cablethe rear end of the beam 16. willbemoved downwardly for elevating thehay rack'18. The reason for so locating the pulleys-29 and 30 inthe-specific relation as shown in Figure 3 v will be subsequentlyexplained; Any suitable draft meansv such as-horses, a tractor, or asuitable power plant maybe appliedfor exerting the required pull ontherope or cable 32 for elevating the load of hay deposited ont-he rack18. In Figure 3 is shown the positionofthe control arm 26 with respecttofthe sill 6during elevating of the:hay rack by the-hoist meansO' I i.The adjustable control means Dembodies achanneled guide rack 34:secured to extend longitudinally of'the front side of the frbntlongitudinal frame rail 6 with the outer end 1 of the rackprojectingbeyond the pulleys 30 and 31. Mounted for longitudinal slidingmovement in thechannel of'the guide rack 34 is a slide block 35 totheouter end ofwhich Jae nected with the inner end of the block is acontrol cable 37 which is trained about a suitable sheave38-mounted uponthe forward end of the central frame rail 9 and then extends upwardlyfor attachment at its upper theforward end of the walking beama pullwill be exerted on the control cable 37 and cause the slide block 35 tobe-moved longitud-inally in the guide rack 34 toward the sheave 38...Carried by the slide block 35 is an L-.

shaped trigger 40 which is pivotally mounted atgits elbow so that: whenthe longer leg 41 of the trigger rests horizontally in the slide blockthe arm 42 of the trigger will extend vertically'upwardly with its upperend projecting above the upper surface of the frame sill 6.

Mounted intermediate its ends upon the upper side of the frame sill 6between the pulleys 30 and 31 so that the ends thereof extend forwardlyand rearwardly of the sill, is a latch arm 43. The forward end of thelatch arm 43 projects above the channel in the guiderack 34 and isintended to be engaged by the upstanding arm portion 42 of the trigger40 for swinging the latch arm when the slide block is drawn inwardlytoward the pulley 38 by the control cable 37. A retaining spring 44 isconnectedwith the forward end-of the latch arm for normally urging the 1rear end. of the arm toward the mast 10. As

the slide block 35 moves away from the pulley 38 the upstanding triggerarm 42 will engage the forward end of the latch arm 43 and cause thetrigger to be rocked about its pivotal axis so that the arm 42 mayreadily pass the latch arm.

Carried by and projectingfrom the end of. the control arm 26'is a latchplate 45' which is;

adapted to en age behind thehooked end of 1 thelatch arm 43 for normallyretaining the control arin in a position extending longitudinally alongthe rear edge of the frame sill 6. The rear edge of the latch arm 43 isbeveled as clearly shown for allowing the latch plate to readily swingthe rear end of the latch arm so that the latch plate may readily swinginto position behind the shoulder on the latch arm.

Pivotally mounted upon the upper side of the control arm 26 beyond thepulley 29 is a grip pawl 46 having a toothed arcuate edge adapted toimpinge the rope 32 against the periphery of the pulley 29 when the pawlis swung in one direction. The arm portion of thepawl extends beyond theend of the control arm 26and is intended to be engaged by an upstandingpinor proiection47 carried by thelatch arm 43wherebywhen thearm 26 is inits normal position against the frame rail 6, the pin 47 will act toretain the. toothed edge of the pawl 46 out of engagement with hehoistrope 32. A suitable coil spring as shown in Figure 3 may be provided fornormally urging the toothed. edge of the ri pawl 46 toward the pulley29. With the elements in a position as shown in Figure 3, it will beseen that the grip pawl 46 is held; in its inoperative position forallowing the hoist cable 32 to freely pass about the pulley 29.

The swinging means E for swinging the stacker proper horizontally afterthe same has been raised toa predetermined elevation by the hoist means0, includes a swinging cable 48 which. is anchored at one end to thehorizontally swinging control arm 26 and extends therefrom about apulley 49 arranged on the rear sill 7 adjacent the opposite end of thebase frame upon which the latch arm 43 is disposed. From the pulley 49the cable extends forwardly about a pulley 50 andthen upwardly over apulley 51 hung from the upper end of one of the diagonal brace members14. A weight 52 is suspended by the ing means E.

Referring now to the automatic trip means G for allowing tilting of thehay rack 18' at predetermined positions of horizontal swinging movementof the stacker proper B, the same includes an adjustable release means55 and a return means 56 which when released by the means 55 permitstilting of the rack 18 and then returns the rack to its normal loadreceiving position. i

Referring first to the release means 55, the same includes a gauge blockor member 57 which is rigidly mounted upon the upper side of the framerail 6 as by suitable fastening ele-- ments 58 at a location thereonwhereby the segmental. shaped top plate 59 partially encircles the mast10. This segmental shaped top plate 59 is provided with a series ofarcuately arranged openings 60 for removably receiving the stem portionof the trip pin 61. and which trip pin is preferably provided withacylindrical shaped head. The series of openings 60 are arranged in acircle concentric to the axis of the mast 10, and the trip pin 61 isreadily removable for positioningin either of the apertures 60. Arelease pin 62 intended to engage the trip pin 61, includes a stemportion63 which extends diametrically thru the mast 10 directly abovethe segmental top plate 59, and provided at one end of the stem 63 is acam head 64provid'ed 'at its'inner side with a cam face 65 which engagesthe cythe release pin to bemoved longitudinally thru the mast 10.. Anexpansion coil spring 66' encircles the stem l63 preferably within the:mast-; and actsiin aimann'er as willrreadilyl be apparent from Figure'13 to normally urge the cam head 64 toward the mast so that one end ofthe. stem is normally held projected; WVhen therelease pin 62 isswung'thru rotation'of the mast 1.0 it Will be 'seen that the cam head64'w1ll engage the trip pin 61 and cause theprojecting end of the stein63 to be retracted from a holding positionwith the return means-56. v Y

, The return "means 56 includes a vertically movable trip rod 68 mountedin suitable guide 7 brackets 69 carried the mast 10. The trip rod 68-ispreferably of-square or) rectangular shape in cross section forpreventing rotation oftherod in the guide brackets 69. The lower endofthe rod 68 is beveled, and provided sition. An expansion coil spring '71encirr at the innerface of the "rod, and at that face confronting themast 10, is a notch 70 for receiving the end of the release pin stem 64when the trip rod is in its normal-lowered pocles the trip rod 68between the brackets 69 uppermost bracket and the lower end of the withone endof the springacting upon the I spring acting upon a pin 72 on thetrip'rod whereby the spring acts to' normally urge the .7

trip rod downwardly to be engaged by the release pin 62; Connected atoneend to the u per end of the trip rod '68 is a tripcable 4 I whichextends first over the sheave or pulley 25'and thenoverthepulley 11 andbeneath a suitable sheave 7 5 mounted at the central portion of thecross rail 19 and has attachment at its forward end with the upper edgeof the back portion of the hay rack 18. By observing Figure 8 it will beseen that when a pull is exerted on the trip cable 7 4 thatthe backposts 22 ofthe hay rack will be swung rearwardly about'the pivot 23 forelevating the rack triggers21. With the trip rod 68 inits lower leasepin 62 will engage the trip pin 61 and be retracted for releasinglthetrip rod so that the weight of the hayfon the hay rack will tilt therackabout the pivot 23-and cause the trip rod spring 71 to becompressed. After the bay has slid off the hay rack fingers the spring 771 will return therack'to its normal position 5 .1

thru the cable 7 4 and move the trip rod downwardly' so that the samewill be engaged at its lower end by the trip rod release pin 62 forholding the hay rack in itsload receiving 7 position.

In operation of the improvedxautomatic stacker, and with the control.arm26 i-n'its be stacked; The trip pin 61 is then placedin" normallatched position'jas shown in-Figure- 3, the rack 18 is in its loweredposition upon the groundto receive a load of hay to the desired opening60 for determiningtha position at which it is d'esiredto havethe haydumped from the rack and the control cable 37 has been'adjusted inlengthfor determiningthe elevation to which the rack will be raisedbefore being swung horizontally by the means E. Power isthe'n appliedtoithe hoist rope 32 which causes the hay rack to be raised to. thedesired elevation and takes the slack out of the controlcable 37 sothat'the slide block 35 is drawn toward the pulley ,38. As the slideblock 35 is somoved longitudinally the upstanding arm portion 42 of thetrigger engages the forward end of the latch arm 43 j and soswings thelatch arm "as to swing the latch arm free of its holding engagementwiththe latch plate. 45 for freeing the control arm 26. As the latch arm 43is swung away from the latch plate 45 the grip pawl46 'is freed from thepin 47'and the teeth of Ithe pawl impinge the rope 32 between the pawland pulley 29 so that the hay rack is held against being lowered by theweight of the load of hay thereon. The force acting upon the hoist ropeis then relieved v and the'weight 52 connec'tedlby the cable 48 tothecontrol arm 26 will cause'the control arm to be swung forrotating'the mast 10v and consequent horizontal swinging of the rack 18.a

As the mast 10 is being rotated by the swinging means E, the release pin62 will'engage the trip pin 61 and release the trip rod 68 so that theweight of the load on the rack 18 will cause the rack to be'tilted fordepositing the hay'at the desired location. Immediately uponrelease ofthe load from the hay r'ackthe spring 71 will depressthe rod 68 so thatthe rod is again engaged by the pin62 withthe hay rackreturnedto itsnormal position. After the load has been dumped from the rack 18 a pullis again exertedon the rope 32 whereby the arm 26 will be swung to itsnormal position and-be engaged by the latch arm 43 with thegrippawl46being released by its engagement with the pin 47;; The hoistrope 32-is then again slackened for allowing lowering of the hayrack,and which lowering of the rack will permit the control cable 37 toslacken for allowingthe slide block 35 to be retracted" by the spring36.

7 By so having the pulleys 29 and 30 so mounted in a relation as shown,such will allow for slight swinging movement of the control arm 26 afterbeing released from the V latch arm 43 and enables the grip pawl 46 toproperly impinge the hoist rope before the pulhng power upon the rope isreleased; It is thought to be readily apparent from Figure 3 the mannerin which the control arm 26 is permitted to swing horizontally away fromthe frame'rail 6 by allowing the length of rope between the pulleys 29and'30 to extend substantially at a right angle to therail 6 while poweris still applied to thehoi t mpg 3-0 impa s By so having the pulley 25located rearwardly of the pulley 11, such acts upon the trip cable 74 asto retain the rack fingers 21 in a horizontal position thru verticalmovement of the rack and thus prevent the load from sliding off therack.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that an improvedconstruction for hay stackers of the swinging type has been providedwhich will be automatic in its swinging and dumping operations and thuseliminating the necessity of requiring a separate operator forperforming the dumping operation. It will also be apparent that a novelarrangement has been provided wherein predetermined limited verticalmovement of the hay rack acts thru suitable mechanism to permitautomatic horizontal swinging of the hay rack to predetermined positionswhereupon the load is automatically dumped and the rack automaticallyreturned to its load receiving position.

Changes in detail may be made to the form of invention herein shown anddescribed, without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A hay stacker comprising a supporting structure including a rotatablemast, a control arnr rigidly connected at one end to the lower end ofthe mast, a beam pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon the upperend of the mast, a rack pivotally mounted forwardly of the mast forvertical swinging movement therewith, a hoist rope connected with therear end of the beam for imparting vertical swinging movement thereto,latch means engageable with the control arm, means for releasing thelatch means upon limited vertical movement of the rack, means forswinging said control arm when released to rotate said mast, and meansfor automatically tripping said rack at predetermined positions ofhorizontal swinging movement of the rack.

2. The combination with a hay stacker embodying a supporting structureincluding a rotatable mast, and a stacker proper pivotally supportedupon the upper end of the mast for vertical swinging movement andincluding a pivoted rack, of means for imparting vertical swingingmovement to the stacker proper, a control arm projecting radially fromthe mast latch means engageable with the arm for normally preventingrotation of the mast, release means for said latch a rotatable mast, anda stacker proper pivotally supported upon the upper end of the mastrforvertical swinging movement and including a plvoted rack, of lift meansfor imparting vertical swinging movement to the with the control arm toimpart swinging movement thereto forrotating the mast, and automaticallyoperable trip means forsa'id rack.

4. The combination with a hay stacker comprising a supporting structureincluding a rotatable mast, and a stacker proper pivotally supported onthe mast for vertical swinging movement and including a pivoted rack, ofa hoist rope for imparting vertical swinging movement to the stackerproper, latch meansfor normally preventing rotation of the mast, meansfor releasing the latch means upon predetermined positions of verticalswinging movement of the stacker proper, a grip pawl engageable with thehoistrope for preventing lowering of said rack and normally helddisengaged from the hoist rope by the latch means, means forautomatically rotating the mast upon release of the latch means, andmeans for automatically tripping the rack at: predetermined positionseofhorizontal, swinging movement of the, stacker proper.

5. The combination with a hay stacker comprising a supporting structureincludinga rotatable mast, and a stacker proper pivotally supported uponthe upper end of thelmast for vertical swinging movement and including apivoted rack, oflift. means for imparting vertical swinging movement tothe stacker proper, a controliarm connected to the lower portion ofthemast, a pivoted latch arm releasably engageable with the control arm forpreventing rotation of the mast, release means for the latch including acontrol cable having one end connected to the stacker proper, gravityactuated means connected with the control arm for swinging the same torotate said mast, and trip means for allowing tiltingof said rackincluding a trip rod automatically releasable. at predeterminedpositions of horizontal swinging movement of the stacker proper.

6. Thecombination with a hay stacker comprising a supporting structureincluding a rotatable mast, a bean pivotally mounted on the upper end ofthe mast, a rack pivotally supported upon one end of the beam, and hoistmeans for imparting vertical swinging movement to the beam, of means forautomatically swinging and tripping said rack embodying a control armrigidly connected at one end to the lower portion of the mast, latchmeans releasably engageab e with the f a 8 The combination 1 m for n ral y p venti g swi gi g-morei "ment thereof, a trigger member forreleasing I f said" latch a"cjontrol cable connected "to the Vtrigger'memberand having its oppositeend 'connectedto said beam foroperating the trigl ger member upon limited upward swinging of the rack,means :Eor automatically rotating the mast upon release of the controlarm, g

- and trip means'for' automatically releasing said rack at predeterminedpositions of horizontal swingi'ng movement ofjthe beam and I embodyingmeans for automatically returning the rack to its normal position.

-. H ;7. The combination with a hay V stacker I W comprising asupporting structure including a rotatable mast, a beampivotally mountedon the upper end of the mast; a rack pivotal- 1 1y supported upon oneend of the beamyand hoist meansforimpartingyertical swinging movement'to"the b eam, 0f latch means for [normally preventing rotation ofthemast,

weight operated means for rotating the mast 7 upon release of the latchmeans, and trip 1 means forthe rack including an adjustable trip pin, alongitudinally movable trip rod,

" alrele'ase pin engageablewith the trip/rod and releasable *by the trippin, a trip cable. I

connecting the, trip rod and said rack," and spring meansfor-returningthe trip rod and rack tov their normal positions With thetrip rod-engaged by-the trip pin. r a hjahay Stacker 1 "comprising a,supporting structure including I a rotatable mast, a beam piyotallymounted x I on the upper end of the rnastja' rack pivotally supported.upon oneend of the beam, and a hoist means for imparting verticalmovement I V V to the beam ,'oflatch,means for normallypre- I iyentingrotation of. the mast, means pforreleasing the'latch meansup'onpredeterrnined positions'of vertical'movement of the beam, f

means for rotating the mast; afiXed-gauge I 4 v member'hav-inga'seriesofopenings concentric to; the axisof rotation of thefmastya trip pinremoyably'insertable into eitherof said openings, arelease pin slidabletransversely :thru theme/st andhayingfa cam he adengage able' 'with thetrip pin foroimpartinglongi 11 tudinalvmovement'tothe release. pin, atrip. 5

rod'n ounted for'longitudinal sliding move.-

l ment uponthe rnast toberel easa-bly engaged f g by said :release pin;atripicable connecting the upper e1id0f thetriprodand said mks I topermlt tilting of the lrackwhen' the trip rodisirelea'sed'; andspringmeans acting upon i he trip 1 rod for 'ireturnin gi the trip rod;and said rack .to their normal positions.

